In Colombia, a new form of justice is taking root in rural areas. The Agrarian and Rural Jurisdiction (ARJ) emerges in response to a historic debt owed by the State to peasant, Indigenous, and Afro-descendant communities, which for decades have lacked a judicial system capable of addressing their conflicts with territorial, cultural, and social relevance.
Recently approved by the Congress of the Republic, the ARJ establishes specialized courts and tribunals to resolve disputes related to land tenure and use, access to natural resources, agrarian production, and other rural matters. Its gradual implementation represents a decisive step toward guaranteeing real and effective access to justice in the countryside and, in doing so, advancing the consolidation of peace.
A collaboration to strengthen rural justice
The strengthening of the ARJ is driven by the joint efforts of the National Land Coalition (CNT) Colombia and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in coordination with the Ministry of Justice and Law and Cinep/PPP, with the support of the United Nations Multi-Partner Trust Fund for Peace.
This alliance has focused its efforts on the Montes de María region, a territory deeply affected by the armed conflict and by longstanding inequalities in access to land. There, Multi-stakeholder Dialogue Tables have been established, bringing together judges, local authorities, social organizations, peasant and Indigenous communities, and rural women leaders.
The objective: to reflect—drawing on territorial knowledge and lived experience—on how an agrarian justice system that is close to communities, inclusive, and transformative should function.
Dialogue, learning, and territorial commitment
The meetings in Montes de María have made it possible to identify progress, challenges, and opportunities for the implementation of the Agrarian and Rural Jurisdiction. Through dialogue, communities have shared proposals on how to make a justice system a reality—one that responds to their rights, their culture, and their relationship with the land.
A significant milestone was the signing of the Pact for Access to Justice for Rural Women of Montes de María, in which peasant, Indigenous, and Afro-descendant women leaders expressed their commitment to a justice system with a gender perspective and free from violence. The pact reaffirms the need for the ARJ to incorporate the voices and demands of rural women, who have historically been marginalized from decision-making spaces.
Multi-stakeholder dialogues for the ARJ in Montes de María
Toward an agrarian justice system with a community face
The implementation of the Agrarian and Rural Jurisdiction will be gradual and will require coordinated efforts between State institutions and rural communities. Its rollout in areas with the greatest demand for agrarian justice will make it possible to address land-related conflicts more appropriately and to strengthen trust in institutions.
The ARJ does not seek solely to resolve land disputes: it aspires to become a tool for reconciliation and equity, contributing to the implementation of the Final Peace Agreement and to fairer territorial governance.
A step toward peace from the territories
The experience in Montes de María demonstrates that access to rural justice is not only a legal matter, but a profoundly social and political one. Through joint work between CNT, FAO, and communities, the foundations are being laid for a justice system that recognizes the diversity of territories and the fundamental role of those who inhabit them.
Strengthening the Agrarian and Rural Jurisdiction is, ultimately, a commitment to peace with social justice—to a Colombian countryside where women, Indigenous peoples, Afro-descendant communities, and peasants can fully exercise their rights and decide over their future.
THE ARJ IS A KEY STEP TOWARD guaranteeing real and effective access to justice in rural areas